Flap's Comments on Politics, the Dental World and Much More

Archive for June 29th, 2009

A top Republican senator has ordered an investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency's alleged suppression of a report that questioned the science behind global warming.

The 98-page report, co-authored by EPA analyst Alan Carlin, pushed back on the prospect of regulating gases like carbon dioxide as a way to reduce global warming. Carlin's report argued that the information the EPA was using was out of date, and that even as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have increased, global temperatures have declined.

"He came out with the truth. They don't want the truth at the EPA," Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla, a global warming skeptic, told FOX News, saying he's ordered an investigation. "We're going to expose it."

California has about 14% of the total number of dentists nationwideâ€“the largest percentage of any state. This fact sheet provides county-by-county estimates of the distribution and characteristics of California's more than 31,000 licensed dentists, spotlighting dental health professional shortage areas and noting key demographic trends. This fact sheet presents a snapshot of licensed and actively practicing dentists in California in the third quarter of 2008. However, changes in licensure, practice status, and reported practice location of dentists continuously occur, leading to discrepancies with data obtained in other time periods.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Monday declined to reaffirm President Barack Obamaâ€™s pledge not to raise taxes on families earning under $250,000 per year, calling questions about the promise â€” asked in the context of a possible tax on health benefits â€” speculative.

Gibbs asserted it would by â€œhypotheticalâ€ to talk about raising health benefit taxes because lawmakers have not approved health reform legislation and Obama has not yet been put in the position of having to decide whether to back such a tax

â€œWeâ€™re going to let Congress do its job,â€ Gibbs said.

During the presidential campaign, Obama used his pledge not to tax health care benefits to bash his opponent, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who said he would include the tax as part of his health plan.

he UCLA Center for Health Policy Research has revised an earlier study detailing severe shortages of dentists in several California counties.

A technical error — which arose because some ZIP Codes span two counties — caused an underestimate in the total number of active dentists and the ratio of dentists to population in some areas. The overall remain largely the same: Some counties are experiencing a severe shortage and others may soon see shortages when aging dentists retire.

"In most cases, it didn't matter," said the report's primary author, Nadereh Pourat, who is the head of research planning at the UCLA School of Public Health. "The problem was in the border areas where a ZIP Code crosses two counties."

"Distribution and Characteristics of Dentists Licensed to Practice in California, 2008" Fact Sheet

A technical error was found in the fact sheet entitled, "Distribution and Characteristics of Dentists Licensed to Practice in California, 2008," originally released on Thursday, May 28th. On June 3, the fact sheet was withdrawn from the Center's Web site and an announcement posted in our newsroom. A revised version of the fact sheet has subsequently been released and is currently posted on the Center's Web site.

The revisions, detailed below, do not substantively change the findings: Some California counties experience severe shortages of dentists. Other counties may experience shortages due to a larger number of dentists near retirement age than newly licensed dentists starting their practices in those areas. There are no changes in the number of DHPSAs, the number of community care clinics with dental services, or the number of dentists practicing in those clinics.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday the coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was illegal and would set a "terrible precedent" of transition by military force unless it was reversed.

"We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the president of Honduras, the democratically elected president there," Obama told reporters after an Oval Office meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

Zelaya, in office since 2006, was overthrown in a dawn coup on Sunday after he angered the judiciary, Congress and the army by seeking constitutional changes that would allow presidents to seek re-election beyond a four-year term.

The Honduran Congress named an interim president, Roberto Micheletti, and the country's Supreme Court said it had ordered the army to remove Zelaya.

South Korea is acquiring 40 U.S.-made missiles for an Aegis destroyer this month to boost its defences amid reports North Korea may soon test-fire missiles, Yonhap news agency on Sunday quoted a military source as saying.

North Korea, which rattled regional security with a May 25 nuclear test, is preparing to test a long-range missile that could hit U.S. territory and mid-range missiles that could hit all of South Korea, a South Korean presidential Blue House official said last week.

The surface-to-air missiles for the Aegis destroyer, designed to track and shoot down objects including missiles, can hit targets up to 160 km away, Yonhap quoted the source as saying.

North Korea has also warned ships to stay away from waters off its east coast city of Wonsan, Japan's Coast Guard said last week, in a possible indication of a missile test.

The Supreme Court has ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.

North Korea criticized the U.S. on Monday for positioning missile defense systems around Hawaii, calling the deployment part of a plot to attack the regime and saying it would bolster its nuclear arsenal in retaliation.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he ordered the deployment of a ground-based, mobile missile intercept system and radar system to Hawaii amid concerns the North may fire a long-range missile toward the islands, about 4,500 miles away.

"Through the U.S. forces' clamorous movements, it has been brought to light that the U.S. attempt to launch a pre-emptive strike on our republic has become a brutal fact," the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary.

The paper also accused the U.S. of deploying nuclear-powered aircraft and atomic-armed submarines in waters near the Korean peninsula, saying the moves prove "the U.S. pre-emptive nuclear war" on the North is imminent.

Hugo ChÃ¡vez's coalition-building efforts suffered a setback yesterday when the Honduran military sent its president packing for abusing the nation's constitution.

It seems that President Mel Zelaya miscalculated when he tried to emulate the success of his good friend Hugo in reshaping the Honduran Constitution to his liking.

But Honduras is not out of the Venezuelan woods yet. Yesterday the Central American country was being pressured to restore the authoritarian Mr. Zelaya by the likes of Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega, Hillary Clinton and, of course, Hugo himself. The Organization of American States, having ignored Mr. Zelaya's abuses, also wants him back in power. It will be a miracle if Honduran patriots can hold their ground.

Mitt Romney says publicly heâ€™s not considering another presidential campaign, most recently on Sunday during an appearance on NBCâ€™s â€œMeet the Press.â€ But many of his loyalists expect one and remain at the ready for 2012.

When dozens of former Romney aides and advisers convened on the terrace of Charlie Spiesâ€™ fashionable Penn Quarter loft earlier this year on a warm February night, the purpose was ostensibly to help raise money for the Virginia state House race of Romney strategist Barbara Comstock.

The Air Force has successfully launched an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile from the California coast to an area in the Pacific Ocean some 4,200 miles away.

Lt. Raymond Geoffroy says the ICBM was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 3:01 a.m. Monday and carried three unarmed re-entry vehicles to their targets near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

The missile, configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration Test Assembly, was launched under the direction of the 576th Flight Test Squadron.

The Air Force says the launch was an operational test to check the weapon system’s reliability and accuracy, and the data will be used by United States Strategic Command planners and Department of Energy laboratories.

I am positive the test was planned far ahead of the sabre-rattling from North Korea.

Wink……

By the way, the Minuteman III, an offensive, first strike capable ICBM is equipped with multiple nuclear warheads.

1. The missile launches out of its silo by firing its 1st stage boost motor (A).2. About 60 seconds after launch, the 1st stage drops off and the 2nd stage motor (B) ignites. The missile shroud is ejected.3. About 120 seconds after launch, the 3rd stage motor (C) ignites and separates from the 2nd stage.4. About 180 seconds after launch, 3rd stage thrust terminates and the Post-Boost Vehicle (D) separates from the rocket.5. The Post-Boost Vehicle maneuvers itself and prepares for re-entry vehicle (RV) deployment.6. The RVs, as well as decoys and chaff, are deployed during backaway.7. The RVs and chaff re-enter the atmosphere at high speeds and are armed in flight.8. The nuclear warheads detonate, either as air bursts or ground bursts.

Chris, there will be little Risk between Sam and Zed compared to the risk of President Obama’s foreign policy.

Take a look at his response to the Honduras coup, especially lining up with friendly LEFTIST dictator Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Just like with Iran, this is an example of another weak response supporting human rights and democracy.

I still want to know what Obama will do when Kim Jong-Il sends that ICBM towards Hawaii on the 4th of July?